Cute
by Samtastic V2.0
Summary: They all thought it was cute how he was to shy to become more than friends with her. But not her. She wanted him to make a move already. Why not? They were best friends, so what was stopping them from becoming more?
1. Chapter 1

**I was originally going to make this a long one-shot, but then decided it would work better as a 2-part story.**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>The word "crush" was a MAJOR understatement for how he felt about her.<p>

Sherman Peabody, son of the world's smartest dog, didn't think "crush" could even begin to describe how he felt about his best friend, Penny Peterson. Truthfully, Sherman would dare say he was in love with her. True, their first encounter wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy, but what relationship hasn't started out with the boy biting the girl to get her to release him from a chokehold?

Well…I think you get what I'm saying: nothing ever starts out smoothly, especially not love. And of course, most guys can't impress their crushes with a time machine that their father built for them, which they then use to help their dad save the world and…

Like I said, you get what I'm saying.

For the past 10 years, Penny and Sherman had been the closest of friends, hanging out with each other as often as possible. And Mr. Peabody was more than happy to have another "history nerd" come along on their time traveling trips.

Of course, being the world's smartest dog (if not the world's smartest being), Mr. Peabody could tell his son had romantic feelings for his best friend. Heck, even Penny's parents could tell Sherman was in love with her. Most of their teachers and classmates could, as well. Honestly, even Penny knew!

So, if everyone knew, why were Penny and Sherman still only friends in their junior year of high school? Both were 17, so the "no dating until 16" rule wasn't in effect anymore. And a sweet, likable nerd with a genius father was exactly the kind of guy parents wanted their daughters to date, so why weren't they?

One reason: fear. From a logical perspective, one could say that fear is the only true enemy of love, because fear teaches you how to be _afraid of love_.

And that was it for Sherman: he was afraid to make a move on Penny. He was so afraid, he didn't even notice that she liked him back. He was afraid that if he became Penny's boyfriend and they broke up, their friendship would fall apart. And he needed Penny in his life, even if it was just as his friend. All of this fear clouded his mind, so he pushed his love for Penny away; he convinced himself it would be easier to just stay friends with Penny, so as to avoid losing her.

But come on, if love was easy, what would be the point of it? Love is like all things you truly want in life: it's something you need to fight for! And doggonit, it's about time that Sherman learned this; he needed to stop being afraid and take a chance.

After all, he frequently used a time machine built by a talking dog to travel through the time stream. Surely he could handle telling his best friend that he was in love with her, right?

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><p>Fame and fortune go together so well, because they are so much alike. The main factor in both of them is, like everything else, they are not unlimited! Just like a rich person needs to occasionally do something to keep the money coming in, a famous person needs to occasionally do something to make sure they stay famous. Appearing in one Super Bowl Commercial as a kid does not mean unlimited fame for life; you have to keep appearing in movies and TV to remain famous into adulthood.<p>

Sadly, even people who become famous for saving the world are not immune to this factor. Even if you manage to fix a rip in the space-time continuum and stop the universe from tearing itself apart, eventually no one cares anymore. They're grateful, but they're not kiss the ground you walk on forever…

"Out of the way, nerd!"

Sherman was roughly pushed forward, his glasses falling off when he hit the ground. Before he knew exactly what was happening, he felt someone walking on him! The person walked on his back, put one foot on his head and pushed down, smushing his face into the floor. When the person took their foot off of his head, Sherman wearily reached for his glasses and, upon finding them, put them on. He looked up at his assaulter, and was not the least bit surprised to see…

"Brittney," Sherman growled, as he pushed himself up and glared at the younger girl. Brittney Cartwell was a freshman at Susan B. Anthony High, and she was already walking around like she was the Queen Bee. Of course, as a freshman she was at the bottom of the food chain, but she was determined to keep her popular status from SBA Junior High, so she needed people to know she wasn't to be messed with. And the best way to do that was to, quite literally, walk all over the upperclassmen. Of course, she only messed with the nerds; she knew that she would regret it if she messed with the older popular kids before she "officially" joined their ranks.

And out of all the junior and senior nerds, Sherman Peabody was one of her favorite targets. While Brittney had heard of Sherman saving the world with his dad's time machine, she didn't really care. Whether or not she believed it, no one knew. Personally, just looking at Sherman made her have her doubts; after all, at 17 he was a walking toothpick: 5'9" and definitely the skinniest kid in school (and being so skinny made him look even taller). And to Brittney, heroes had to be strong, good-looking, and suave; everything Sherman was NOT. So she bullied him regularly, figuring she could only improve her chances at becoming the future Queen Bee.

"Why don't you watch where I'm going?" she snarked at Sherman, before she turned and headed to class.

As Sherman glared at Brittney's retreating form, he felt the urge to bark at her. Hey, his dad was a dog, so why couldn't he bark at someone?

"Don't let her get to you," a voice told Sherman, causing the boy to look to his left, where an angel was standing. Not a REAL angel, but Penny Peterson. The past 10 years had definitely been kind to Penny, with a nice bubble butt, C-cup breasts, and a little bit of skinniness to make her curves even more noticeable. She only came up to Sherman's chest, being 5'4". Her long, flowing blonde hair reached to her mid-back, and her blue eyes stared at Sherman in a caring way as she told him, "Brittney's just a b*tch who thinks she owns the whole school and everything in it. She WANTS to get a reaction from you." Penny put her hand on Sherman's shoulder as she guided him towards homeroom.

"I know," Sherman groaned, gently shaking Penny's hand off as he walked beside her, "I just…you'd think a guy who saved the world would get a little more respect around here."

"Well, I respect you," Penny said, grabbing Sherman's hand and slowly leaning into him, making the nerd blush.

"EEEEEEEE!" Squeals interrupted the two's walk as they covered their ears. Looking ahead, they saw a crowd of girls clustered around a bulletin board, all gossiping and squealing in excitement.

Waiting a moment until the crowd somewhat dispersed, the two walked up to the bulletin board to see what had gotten those girls so excited.

"EEEEEEEE!" Penny squealed in delight, making Sherman have to cover his ears again. What those girl was looking at was a flier for the upcoming "Junior Prom: for Grades 9-11" that was coming up at the end of the week.

"The end of the week is pretty short notice," Sherman remarked, "You'd think they would have put something up last week."

"Well, they probably meant to…" Penny began, only to get interrupted by a voice calling out to her.

"Penny!"

The two friends groaned in annoyance as they turned away from the flier to see _him_ approaching them. Adonis Richards, the hottest guy in school. He was a junior, and every girl, even a few of the seniors, wanted to get with him. But he only wanted one girl: Penny Peterson. With his tan skin, chiseled features, bright green eyes, and smooth jet-black hair, it was understandable that out of all the girls in school, he would want a hot-blonde by his side.

Of course, Penny wanted nothing to do with him, finding him to be nothing more than an arrogant SOB. Of course she thought he was hot, but she knew his beauty was only on the surface. Deep down he was nothing more than a vain narcissist.

"Sup, babe?" Adonis asked Penny as he leaned onto the lockers, completely ignoring Sherman.

"The ceiling," Penny dryly replied, knowing where this was going. She no longer hoped Adonis would get the message; she knew he would keep trying until he won her over, even though it was obvious that was never gonna happen.

"Ooh hoo, funny as always," he slyly sated, flashing Penny his trademark grin, "One of the things I love about ya. So, for our date this Friday, what time should I pick you up?"

"At never o'clock," Penny aid, not at all surprised at his pace. After over a year of flirting with her, Penny knew how Adonis acted; he always assumed that she would say yes to him, as though her life depended on him giving her the time of day.

"How's 7 work, instead?" Again, Adonis was ignoring the hostility in her voice. Why couldn't he see she was NOT interested? There were plenty of other girls (some much hotter than Penny) who would gladly give up their arms to go on a date with Adonis, yet he couldn't care less about them. The fact that Penny wasn't interested made him even more determined to make her his.

"Sure, put me down for 7:00 sharp…a thousand years from this Friday," Penny said. Before Adonis could retort…

**BBBRRRRRIIIIIIINNNGGGGG!**

"Saved by the bell," Sherman said happily, as he and Penny walked away from the arrogant jock, Penny looping her arm through Sherman's.

"Penny **will** be mine," Adonis growled to himself, as he glared at the lanky nerd's retreating form.

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><p>At lunch that day, the two sat at their usual table, away from the popular kids, but thankfully not by the trashcans. All around them, guys were asking their girlfriends to the Junior Prom.<p>

"So romantic, isn't it?" Penny said dreamily, as she watched other girls squeal in delight as their boyfriends and crushes asked them to the dance.

"Yup," Sherman said, slightly distracted as he munched on his PB&J.

"So, Sherman," Penny said, slyly looking at her best friend, "Got any idea on whether or not you're gonna go to the JP?"

"Um…" Sherman wasn't sure how to answer as Penny stared at him with that sly look she had. Of course Sherman wanted to ask Penny, but he had no idea how to do that.

"I mean, I would LOVE to go, if the right boy asked me," Penny said, batting her eyelashes at Sherman, who slightly choked on his sandwich before swallowing it.

"Well, I'm sure he will," Sherman managed to say. A part of his brain was screaming, 'Ask her, you moron! You know you want to! Forget your stupid nerves!'

"Any idea when he might ask me?" Penny asked, idly looking away, as though pondering something.

"Not sure," Sherman managed to say, as he felt his throat suddenly becoming VERY dry, "Only he knows."

"Uh huh," Penny nodded, looking up at the ceiling, "Well, I hope he asks me soon. A girl can't wait forever."

Luckily for Sherman, he didn't have to

**BBBRRRRRIIIIIIINNNGGGGG!**

"Gotta go, math awaits. Ugh," Penny said, sticking her tongue out at the thought of Algebra. Sherman, while pitying her for having to sit through her least favorite class for 40 minutes, was grateful to, again, be saved by the bell.

"Right, see ya later, then," Sherman forced a smile, as Penny hurried off to class. He then chugged down the last of his milk before gathering his things as he contemplated asking Penny to the dance. He wanted to, so badly, but that was easier said than done. He was just too dang nervous.

There was, however, one thing he could do. It was a long shot, but it just might work. He just hoped Mr. Peabody would be okay with it.

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><p>When Sherman got home that afternoon, he found a note from Mr. Peabody on the fridge:<p>

_Sherman,_

_Had to run a quick errand. Be back soon._

_-Mr. Peabody_

"Good," Sherman said, as he hurried to his room to change out of his school uniform. He then took the elevator down the secret basement of their apartment building, where the WABAC was kept.

As he approached it, Sherman was fully aware of how much trouble he could get in for doing this, but it HAD to be done. It was the only way he would be able to calm his nerves enough to ask Penny to the dance.

Hopping inside, Sherman set the WABAC for a very specific date: his first day of school.

The ride was a quick one, and before Sherman knew it, he was in the cafeteria of Susan B. Anthony Elementary School. The students were just starting to pile in.

There, Sherman spotted his past self with his new friends Carl and Mason. They entered and sat at one of the tables. It wasn't long before Penny and her friends entered, and the situation began.

Sherman just couldn't believe that this cruel little girl was his best friend and the object of his affections. But she was, and nothing would ever change that.

After watching the events between his and Penny's first encounter play out in full (ending with Penny going to the nurse's office, and Sherman going to the principal's office) Sherman set the WABAC for another (slightly) familiar time period: 3 years after the Trojan War.

Floating above an open field in the still invisible WABAC, Sherman saw who he was looking for.

Still living in the Trojan Horse and eating pizzas were King Agamemnon and Queen Grunion. Of course, Grunion wasn't supposed to be there, seeing as she was a Children's Service Agent from the 21st Century. And they definitely weren't supposed to be eating pizzas.

But…History had been slightly altered during Sherman's first major time travel experience, and part of it involved King Agamemnon falling in love with Ms. Grunion the moment he laid his eyes on her. And of course, the entire army had fallen in love with pizza the moment they tried it.

So now Grunion was Agamemnon's queen, the Trojan Army had somehow managed to get supplies of tomatoes and cheeses and flour and meats for all the pizzas they could want, and they were still alive.

Sherman knew the Trojan War had really happened and wasn't just a myth. But man, all the confusing stories about it made it hard to keep up. And most of them weren't even close to true. The main thing everybody got wrong was that Odysseus wasn't an arrogant leader who doomed his entire army after the war was over by refusing to thank the Gods; he was Agamemnon's dopey second-in-command who was a bit overly religious.

Of course, History wasn't the reason Sherman had come back to this period in time.

The last time Sherman had seen Ms. Grunion, she was angry, in a bad mood, and just overall refusing to listen to anyone. Now, after falling in love with Agamemnon, she was actually humming a joyful tune…as she and her husband trained their army. She was smiling as they got into a little play fight over giving their men exercising orders.

Watching the two "opposites attract" couple for a while, Sherman couldn't help but wonder if that would ever be Penny and him. They weren't opposites in any way (other than the fact that Penny was popular and Sherman wasn't), but Sherman just felt like they were on other ends of the solar system.

"Quite shocking seeing her this way, isn't it?"

Shrieking in surprise like a little girl, Sherman turned around and saw Mr. Peabody sitting in one of the passenger seats, looking out the window at Ms. Grunion.

"Mr. Peabody!" Sherman exclaimed, "How…how long have you been here?"

Mr. Peabody raised an eyebrow at his son's rather foolish question as he answered, "Considering I had to be in the WABAC when you left, I would say," he looked at his watch, "About 15 minutes."

"Right, right," Sherman mentally smacked himself on the head for asking such a stupid question, "I…I thought you had an important errand to run."

"I do," Mr. Peabody nodded, "And I was just about to run it when you took the only way of getting there."

Sherman winced, realizing his dad meant a time-travel errand.

"So…" Sherman wasn't sure what to say now.

"My errand was going to be taking some notes on the signing of the Declaration of Independence," Mr. Peabody began, "However, before I could proceed, I dropped my pen, and it rolled under the WABAC. I got down and grabbed it, and right as I got back into the time machine, you took off." He narrowed his eyes at his son, "You know you're not allowed to use the WABAC without my permission."

"I…I know, Mr. Peabody, "It's just…I needed to do something important and private, and since I thought you were just running a normal errand…"

Mr. Peabody interrupted, "You figured you could run you're little errand and be back before I knew you were gone?"

"Well, the WABAC turns hours into minutes," Sherman reminded his father, "So even if I had been gone an hour, I would have been back a minute after I'd left."

Mr. Peabody nodded; that had been a failsafe he made for the time machine after his first trip had left baby Sherman alone for 6 hours. Now, when they left, hours in time-travel were converted into real time minutes. Example: a 10-hour trip would be "done" in 10 minutes.

"So," Mr. Peabody said after a moment, "Your school's website states that the Junior Prom is coming up this week, and you used the WABAC to witness your first interaction with Penny AND check up on our old pain in the neck. Gee, I wonder why?"

Mr. Peabody didn't use sarcasm often, and when he did it was for a very good reason. Seeing as his son was struggling over his feelings for his best friend, Mr. Peabody felt it appropriate to point out the obvious.

"Well," Sherman rubbed his neck, unsure of what to say. Luckily, Mr. Peabody's attention was turned towards Grunion and Agamemnon, who were now dancing in a fierce way as they continued giving their men orders. Sherman sighed as he, too, watched Grunion and Agamemnon dance the day away. They looked so happy together.

Suddenly, Sherman's chair was propelled back as Mr. Peabody took the wheel.

"So, Sherman," Mr. Peabody said, as he started up the WABAC to return home, "You used the WABAC without permission, so… you're grounded for three months."

"3 MONTHS?!" Sherman cried, "But I'll lose all summer. And I won't get to ask Penny to the Junior Prom."

Mr. Peabody hid a smirk as he turned to his son, pretending to think things over.

"Very well then," Mr. Peabody finally said, "If you ask Penny to the Junior Prom, you will not be grounded." The smirk on his face was now visible as he said this.

Sherman groaned. Of course his dad would do that; now he HAD to ask Penny to Prom. Well, that wouldn't be TOO hard, would it?

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><p>"Just do it, just do it, just do it," Sherman muttered to himself, as he eyed Penny at her locker. Damn, she looked hot in her uniform. How come girls always made their school uniforms look hot, but guys could never do it?<p>

"Focus," he muttered to himself, as he continued to watch Penny get her supplies ready for the day. As she was getting things together, she dropped one of her pencils. She bent down to retrieve it, with her back facing Sherman, who watched her skirt slightly rise up as she bent over…

'STOP!' a voice screamed in his head, 'You'll have plenty of time to be a horny teenager LATER! Right now, you wanna ask Penny to the dance because of your feelings for her, remember?'

"Right," he muttered, as he headed over towards Penny…only to stop suddenly as he noticed Adonis making his way towards Penny.

"Yo, Penny," Adonis called out, at which Penny groaned.

"What is it this time, Adonis?" Penny's voice clearly stated she was not in the mood.

"Oh, I just wanted to ask if you would like to go to the Junior Prom with the guy of your dreams?" Their was a flirtatious arrogance in his voice as he wiggled his eyebrows at Penny, who rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Yeah I would, and you aren't him," Penny said, not feeling like jokingly telling him off; she didn't want to go with him, no question about it.

"What?" Adonis asked, faking being shocked, "But you know Brad Pitt is too old for you, so clearly I must be the man of your dreams." Penny groaned at this.

**"ADONIS RICHARDS, PLEASE REPORT TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE AT ONCE. ADONIS RICHARDS TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE!"** the call came out of the loud speaker.

"Gotta go, babe, be back in a sec," Adonis said, flashing Penny a smile before heading off to the principal's office. As soon as the jock was gone, Sherman stepped out from around the corner, tucking his "Loud Speaker hacker" into his backpack.

"Hey, Penny," Sherman said. Penny smiled at seeing her best friend.

"Hey, Sherman, what's up?" she asked, mentally crossing her fingers in anticipation.

"Well…" Sherman paused, took a deep breath, and just said it, "I was wondering if maybe you would like to go to the Junior Prom with me?"

"Yeah, I'd love to," Penny said, smiling widely.

"Ok, I understand, sorry for bothering you," Sherman said, before turning and trying to walk away. A hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"I said yes," Penny repeated, chuckling at Sherman's nervousness, "I'd love to go to the dance with you, Sherman."

"Oh…ok," Sherman choked out, as Penny giggled and skipped away. Her skirt swayed as she skipped, which again caused Sherman's hormones to rise. Luckily, he was too happy to pay attention to them.

Unknown the Sherman, a very angry jock was glaring at him form the end of the hall.

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><p><strong>Been wanting to do this since I saw the movie.<strong>

**Oh, and I've accepted that I'm not gonna get 50,000 words typed by the end of the month, so I'm gonna try to get 50,000 by the end of the year.**

**So, word count for this chapter is: 3796 out of 50,000**

**Total word count is: 20742 out of 50,000**

**I'll get part 2 out soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay! I said I would get this out soon, and I actually did.**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>The next two days came and went. All day Friday, all anyone seemed to be able to talk about was the Junior Prom (despite their teachers trying to remind them that finals were the following week).<p>

Finally, school let out, and everyone raced home. As soon as he got home, Mr. Peabody handed Sherman a specially made tuxedo (it had to be specially made, seeing as Sherman was so skinny) and told him to go try it on.

Mr. Peabody paced anxiously outside his son's room as Sherman tried on his tuxedo. Truth be told he was extremely nervous for Sherman. Of course, he was proud his son had finally gathered up the courage to ask Penny out (that "grounded for the whole summer" threat had really helped), but now there were so many things to think about and go over.

"Now remember, Sherman, when you pick Penny up, open the car door for her. Or, well…" the genius dog rethought that for a second, "In your case, help her get seated into the sidecar."

"I know, Mr. Peabody," Sherman said through the door.

"And when you get to the dance, be sure to help her _out_ of the side car."

"I know Mr. Peabody."

"Also, despite the fact that we're all friends, expect Mr. Peterson to threaten you about treating Penny right tonight. It's nothing personal, just something all fathers do on their daughters' first date."

"I know, Mr. Peabody."

"At the dance, ask her if she would like something to drink, and get it for her."

"I know, Mr. Peabody."

"Chances are she'll want to dance right away. When dancing, make sure to keep arms-length apart in order to keep the chaperone from getting on your case. There will probably be a song that will allow you to hold each other close."

"I…I know, Mr. Peabody."

Mr. Peabody didn't catch the brief stutter in Sherman's voice as he continued, "And remember, when you drop her off at home, if she wants you to kiss her, she will…"

THUD!

MR. Peabody stopped talking and looked at the door worriedly, his ears raised; "Sherman? Are you alright?"

The door suddenly flew open, and Mr. Peabody gasped in shock. Sherman was standing there shakily, his tuxedo barely fit right, his face pale, his hair an absolute mess, and his eyes wide with fear.

"I've…been better," he choked out, before slumping over.

Mr. Peabody instantly went to get his son a cold towel. The talking dog had seen many things in his lifetime, including bad cases of nerves. But he had never seen a case THIS bad.

"Really, son," he began, as he led Sherman to the couch and placed the placed the wet towel on Sherman's forehead, "This is Penny we're talking about. She's your best friend."

"I know," Sherman moaned, "That's what makes this so hard."

"But isn't this why you used the WABAC to witness your first encounter together?" Mr. Peabody asked, as he began straightening Sherman's tux, "I mean, it's obvious you like her as more than a friend, and I'd be more than willing to bet she feels the same about you."

"I know, Mr. Peabody, I just…" Sherman began, suddenly clutching his stomach, "I just feel so nervous. I don't know if I'll be able to make a move tonight."

"Son," Mr. Peabody sighed, before deciding he needed to be firm, "This is ridiculous. You and Penny are the best of friends, and I doubt anything will ever change that. If it doesn't go well tonight, then you'll at least know you've tried. Do that. Not for me, but for you. For Penny." Peabody looked directly into his son's eyes as he said this.

"I know, but…" Sherman began, only to be cut off by Mr. Peabody slapping him.

"No buts!" Mr. Peabody stated, as he finished straightening Sherman's tux, "You're going to the dance, you're going to have a good time, and that's final!" At that, the talking dog hurried into the bathroom. He returned a moment later with two pink pills and told Sherman, "Take these Pepto, they'll help with your stomach."

Sherman did as he was told. All the while, he couldn't help but thinking how right his father was. He knew it was ridiculous for him to be feeling this way, but he couldn't help it. He needed Penny in his life, and if things didn't go well tonight, she might never want to talk to him again.

But for the moment, that didn't matter. Mr. Peabody was tired of his son's nervousness, so there was no way he was getting out of this.

Finally, after about 20 minutes of laying down, Sherman felt as ready as he could. He told Mr. Peabody good bye, got the flowers he had picked for Penny, and left to go pick her up.

Standing on the penthouse balcony, Mr. Peabody looked down at the street, where his keen dog eyes were able to witness his son leaving on the scooter.

"Good luck, Sherman," he muttered, as he watched his boy drive off.

* * *

><p>Sherman took a deep breath as he parked his scooter in front of the Peterson residence. Taking off his helmet, he nervously made his way up the front steps of the rather large house.<p>

He paused when he got to the front door. He knew Mr. Peabody was right; there was no reason for him to be this nervous. It was Penny, after all.

Taking another deep breath, Sherman rang the doorbell. Hearing a lot of shuffling on the other side, Sherman could only guess who was going to open the door.

Sure enough, after some more shuffling, the door opened, and a tiny blonde head poked around the door.

"Hello, Sher-Man."

Looking down, Sherman smiled at Penny's little sister, Petunia. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson had tried to have another kid when Penny was a couple years old, but were unable to. They eventually gave up, but when Penny was at a sleepover for Sherman's 10th birthday, they had just done it…and poof! Petunia was born nine months later. Of course Mr. Peterson got the surgery right after learning his wife was pregnant again, so as to avoid another whoops.

But they loved Petunia anyway. She was the definition of adorable. She looked just like Penny, except for the fact that her hair could never stay straight; it was a mop of little curls. And she always put emphasis on Sherman's name, which he thought was the cutest thing.

Looking besides Petunia, Sherman saw the source of the shuffling: Petunia had pushed a chair in front of the door so she could look out the peephole.

"PENNY!" Petunia suddenly yelled out, "SHER-MAN IS HERE TO TAKE YOU TO THE DANCE!"

That was another thing about Petunia: she had a set of lungs on her.

"Sherman," Patty Peterson smiled as she entered the front room, "So good to see you. Penny should be down any minute."

"That's just enough time for me to do this," Paul Peterson said, having come from the kitchen, as he slung his arm on Sherman's shoulders, "I trust you, Sherman, but know that if you upset my baby in any way shape or form, your father's time machine won't even be able to find your body. Do I make myself clear?" His tone was deathly serious as he said that.

Sherman nodded quickly, "I understand, sir. I'll treat Penny with the utmost respect."

"Good," Mr. Peterson said, patting Sherman's shoulder, "I always knew you were a good kid."

"Of course he is," a voice said from the top of the stairs, "Why do you think he's my best friend?"

Sherman looked at the top of the stairs…as his eyes went wide in shock! Penny was standing there, in a cute red dress that went down just below her knees, with a sparkly red headband, and a pair of red heels. She also had red lipstick on.

Sherman stared, mouth open, at the vision in front of him.

"You look great, Sherman," Penny said, as she descended the stairs.

"Um…so…so do you," Sherman managed to say.

"PICTURE!" Patty squealed, as she got out the camera. Penny quickly looped her arm through Sherman's, and they both smiled as Penny's mom took picture after picture.

Finally, the two made their escape with Patty telling them to have fun, and Paul telling Sherman to make sure Penny was home by 11.

At that, Sherman helped Penny get seated into the sidecar, and the two took off for the dance.

* * *

><p>Arriving at school, with the dance being held in the Gym, Sherman parked his scooter in the side parking lot. He then helped Penny out of the sidecar, and the two made their way inside, arms looped together.<p>

As soon as they opened the doors, everyone, even the teachers, briefly stopped what they were doing to look at the two. Some people frowned, others smiled. Sherman could have sworn he saw the frowning people were passing money to the smiling people.

'Did people bet on whether or not me and Penny would get together?' Sherman thought, before shaking his head, realizing how ridiculous that sounded.

He was right, though. People, even the teachers, bet on whether or not, and when, he and Penny would get together. Hence the smiles and frowns and passing of money.

Anyway, Sherman lead Penny to the food table, where there were all sorts of candy and cookies and punch.

As Sherman eagerly began piling food on a plate (his stomach pains long forgotten), Penny couldn't help but giggle at how cute Sherman was; candy and sugar always brought out the little boy in him, which Penny found precious.

"So, Sherman," she began, as she idly tap his shoulder, "I wanna dance. Can we?"

Sherman, his mouth stuffed with a cookies, looked at her, eyes wide. He swallowed and forced out a "Sure!"

At that, Sherman took a swig of his punch, threw his plate and cup in the trash, and followed Penny over to the dance floor…right as a slow song began playing.

"Oh boy," Penny's eyes lit up as she leaned in to Sherman's chest. Sherman blushed profusely, as he felt his stomach start gurgling.

"Um…" Sherman tried to say something, but his mind was drawing a blank. Now would be the perfect time to talk to Penny about his true feelings for her, but the more he thought of doing that, the more queasy he felt.

"This is nice, isn't it, Sherman?" Penny asked, as they two swayed back and forth to the music. She then looked up at him and smiled, which made it too much.

"Excuse me," Sherman suddenly pushed Penny away and threw his hands over his mouth as he hurried out the Gym door to the bathroom.

Penny frowned as Sherman hurried away, obviously to go throw up. Why couldn't he just get over his nerves and accept that the two of them liked each other. It actually made Penny want to cry.

As she felt a few tears starting to fall, she heard that obnoxious voice, AGAIN.

"Penny?" Adonis came up to her. He looked rather nice in his all black tuxedo, but Penny couldn't care less.

"What is it, Adonis?" Penny was in NO mood to deal with him now.

However, Adonis was in NO mood to hear "no" again.

"We're gonna dance," he said forcefully, the charm in his voice gone as he grabbed Penny by the arm and tried to yank her up, "Come on!"

"Let go of me!" Penny said, as she used her free arm to wipe her tears. She glared angrily at the jock who couldn't accept when he was told "no", while he glared back.

"I said we're going to dance," he said, as he grabbed Penny's arm again, trying to force her onto the dance floor.

* * *

><p>In the boys' bathroom, Sherman was in a stall, leaning over one of the toilets as he puked his guts up.<p>

"Why? Why am I feeling this way?" Sherman moaned, as he leaned against the toilet seat, "It's Penny. She's my best friend."

Sherman, still weak, reached into his back pocket to grab his handkerchief to wipe off his glasses. Instead, his hand brushed against something else…

"What the?" he asked, as he pulled a folded sheet of paper out of his back pocket. it looked rather worn out, like it was really old. Unfolding it, Sherman's eyes went wide as he read the note on it…

_Yo, Sherman._

_This is from your future self. 10 years in the future, to be specific. Look, I don't really know where the "start" was, I just know that I found this note in my pocket 10 years ago, with these specific instructions:_

_On the night of Petunia's Junior Prom, use the WABAC to go back to the night of MY Junior Prom right before I leave to pick up Penny._

_Sneak into the penthouse and, carefully so as not to come into physical contact with your past self, slip this note into my back pocket. I will find it when I'm done puking in the bathroom._

_So yeah, this note is basically to tell you that you and Penny will totally end up together, but only if you are strong enough to do so. I mean, come on. It's Penny! The girl of your dreams. The girl who became your best friend after originally hating you! How could you think a relationship with her wouldn't work out?_

_Look, I know how you're feeling; after all, I was you, at one point (well, I still AM you, but an older, slightly wiser you), so I know how stressed you're feeling right now. But I promise you, if you just follow your heart, you won't be disappointed (yeah, I know how cheesy that line is, but whatever)._

_Just remember all the good times the two of you have had together, and go to her. Hold her as you tell her you love her, and that you'll always be there for her._

_-Future Sherman!_

Sherman couldn't believe what he was reading! It didn't seem real, a note from his future self telling him everything with Penny would be okay. It was illogical, it was unheard of, it was…

"The truth," he muttered, as he began thing back to all the wonderful times he and Penny had shared over the years:

-They spent each other's birthdays together every year, and up until they entered middle school and it was deemed "inappropriate", they had had birthday sleepovers

-Christmas of Second Grade (their second Christmas together), they had had their first kiss under the mistletoe (well, Penny had kissed Sherman on the cheek, but Sherman still thought it counted as their "first kiss")

-When they entered middle school, when all their other friends had moved away, they had promised that they would still be the best of friends, no matter what

-Near the end of middle school when Penny broke her arm in Gym class, Sherman (who couldn't use the WABAC to prevent it from happening, Mr. Peabody's orders) took care of her, carrying her books and opening doors for her everywhere she went

-When they entered high school and the popular girls had offered to "recruit" Penny into their ranks as long as she ditched Sherman, she told them off, and the two stuck together

-When Sherman finally got his driver's license (after 3 tries) Penny celebrated by, again, kissing him on the cheek

But one memory stood out above all the rest:

* * *

><p><em>Right after the incident with the WABAC, Sherman and Penny were waiting while their parents settled everything with the police..<em>

_"Sherman," Penny began, looking down at the ground, "I just wanna say I'm…I'm sorry for what happened at school. I was just jealous, and it was wrong of me to treat you like that, especially in front of everyone."_

_Sherman smiled at her, "It's ok, Penny. I guess I was just too eager…"_

_"No!" Penny interrupted, "That doesn't matter. I should have just accepted that there's someone smarter than me in class. It's my fault all this happened. I'm…I'm sorry." She then looked down to the ground, trying not to cry._

_Suddenly, she felt Sherman's arms around her. "It's ok," he told her, "What happened happened. There's no way to change it. Well, we COULD change it, but that would probably just make things worse." They both looked at the WABAC and chuckled at that thought. "Anyway," Sherman told her, "Just forget about it. It's done."_

_"You're right," Penny said, smiling as she wiped her eyes, "Let's never fight again."_

_"Friends?" Sherman asked._

_"The best of friends," Penny said, as she hugged Sherman again, "We'll always be there for each other, no matter what."_

_"No matter what," Sherman repeated, smiling as he returned Penny's hug._

* * *

><p>Smiling fondly at the memory, Sherman's nerves slowly but surely melted away, transforming into confidence.<p>

Folding the note, he placed it in his pocket before making himself presentable (wiping his face, brushing his hair, taking some breath mints) before making his way out of the bathroom, towards the gymnasium. As he made his way there, a rather appropriate song began to play.

_**I'm at a payphone trying to call home  
>All of my change I spent on you<br>Where have the times gone? Baby, it's all wrong  
>Where are the plans we made for two?<br>**_

Sherman walked right up to Adonis, put one hand on his shoulder to turn him so he was facing away from Penny, and used his other hand to sock the gorgeous teen model right in the stomach. Despite being a walking toothpick, Sherman's change in personality may as well have turned him into the Rock as Adonis' eyes bulged out, and he let out an inaudible grunt, before clutching his stomach and toppling over, obviously in tremendous pain.

_**Yeah, I, I know it's hard to remember  
>The people we used to be...<br>It's even harder to picture,  
>That you're not here next to me.<br>**_

Sherman then glanced at Penny, who was wiping the last of the tears from her eyes as she stared in shock at Adonis' slumped-over body. She then looked up at Sherman, who flashed her a grin and offered her his hand, which she took with a small smile on her face. Sherman then led her to the dance floor.

_**You say it's too late to make it,  
>But is it too late to try?<br>And in our time that you wasted  
>All of our bridges burned down<strong>_

_**I've wasted my nights,**_  
><em><strong>You turned out the lights<strong>_  
><em><strong>Now I'm paralyzed.<strong>_  
><em><strong>Still stuck in that time<strong>_  
><em><strong>When we called it love<strong>_  
><em><strong>But even the sun sets in paradise<strong>_

Sherman and Penny made their way to the center of the dance floor, and Sherman began leading Penny in a dance that matched the song that was playing: slow and steady, while upbeat at the same time.

_**I'm at a payphone trying to call home  
>All of my change I spent on you<br>Where have the times gone? Baby, it's all wrong  
>Where are the plans we made for two?<strong>_

_**If "Happy Ever After" did exist,**_  
><em><strong>I would still be holding you like this<strong>_  
><em><strong>All those fairy tales are full of it.<strong>_  
><em><strong>One more stupid love song, I'll be sick<strong>_

Sherman suddenly picked Penny up and spun her around, causing her to squeal in delight. Setting her down, the two gazed lovingly into each other's eyes as they continued dancing.

_**Oh, you turned your back on tomorrow  
>'Cause you forgot yesterday.<br>I gave you my love to borrow,  
>But you just gave it away.<strong>_

_**You can't expect me to be fine,**_  
><em><strong>I don't expect you to care<strong>_  
><em><strong>I know I've said it before<strong>_  
><em><strong>But all of our bridges burned down.<strong>_

_**I've wasted my nights,**_  
><em><strong>You turned out the lights<strong>_  
><em><strong>Now I'm paralyzed.<strong>_  
><em><strong>Still stuck in that time<strong>_  
><em><strong>When we called it love<strong>_  
><em><strong>But even the sun sets in paradise.<strong>_

At the stage, the principal was looking at Penny and Sherman and smiling. Taking a peek in the envelope, he was not the least bit surprised to see that Adonis and Penny were the Prom King and Queen. Knowing the jock had rigged the votes, the principal simply tore the cards up and announced Sherman and Penny as the Junior Prom King and Queen!

_**I'm at a payphone trying to call home  
>All of my change I spent on you<br>Where have the times gone? Baby, it's all wrong  
>Where are the plans we made for two?<strong>_

**_If "Happy Ever After" did exist,_**  
><strong><em>I would still be holding you like this<em>**  
><strong><em>All those fairy tales are full of it.<em>**  
><strong><em>One more stupid love song, I'll be sick<em>**  
><strong><em>Now I'm at a payphone<em>**

Sherman and Penny looked lovingly at each, before slowly leaning in. Of course Sherman was nervous; heck, even Penny was nervous. But it needed to be done, finally pushing the fear away. Their dancing became simple swaying as they leaned into each other.

Their lips locked in their first real kiss.

_**Yeah, yeah, now baby don't hang up,  
>So I can tell you what you need to know,<br>Baby I'm begging you just please don't go,  
>So I can tell you what you need to know<strong>_

_**I'm at a payphone trying to call home**_  
><em><strong>All of my change I spent on you<strong>_  
><em><strong>Where have the times gone? Baby, it's all wrong<strong>_  
><em><strong>Where are the plans we made for two?<strong>_

_**If "Happy Ever After" did exist,**_  
><em><strong>I would still be holding you like this<strong>_  
><em><strong>All those fairy tales are full of it.<br>One more stupid love song, I'll be sick  
>Now I'm at a payphone…<strong>_

As they parted from their kiss, Sherman and Penny were surprised to see the crowns on each other's heads. They had been named Prom King and Queen without even realizing it! But, being totally honest here…they couldn't care less. Sherman was happy he had finally put his nerves behind him and become more than friends with Penny, while Penny was thrilled that the guy of her dreams had finally made a move on her.

The two continued dancing the rest of the night, until the janitor had to make them leave (which was hard to do, as the guy hadn't seen too many examples of true love in his life). Sherman lifted Penny up and plunked her down into his scooter's sidecar, and after making sure she was buckled, put his helmet on and took off for the Peterson house.

* * *

><p>At about 11:00, Mr. and Mrs. Peterson were beginning to grow slightly worried about their daughter. They trusted Sherman, but that didn't mean they weren't worried about their daughter when she was out on her first date.<p>

Instinctively, Mrs. Peterson opened the door for the fourth time in half-an-hour to see if the two were home yet…

And let out a slight gasp at the sight in front of her. Right after her last check 4 minutes prior, Sherman had pulled up in front of the Peterson residence. The two had spent the time since getting to the porch in a passionate kiss.

After overcoming her initial shock, Mrs. Peterson smiled at the sight of her daughter and her boyfriend in such a sweet, romantic moment.

A moment that was ruined by an overprotective father shouting, "WHAT IN THE NAME OF SAM HILL!"

* * *

><p>Before going to bed that night, both Penny and Sherman told their respective audiences about their magical night.<p>

Mr. Peabody was incredibly proud of his son. Finally, he had swallowed his nerves and taken that leap, the leap towards true love. And of course Mr. Peabody was true to his word and lifted Sherman's grounding.

Laying in her bed, Penny told Petunia all about her "Prince Charming" and their dance together. Being only 7, Petunia thought it was so wonderful and romantic that her big sister was "living in a fairy tail".

To say both teens went to sleep happy that night would be a massive understatement.

* * *

><p><em>One week later…<em>

"No more teachers, no more books…" Sherman began, as he stroked Penny's hair.

"No more bullies' dirty looks," Penny finished, as she snuggled into Sherman's chest.

It was finally Summer Vacation, and the new couple was on a date of sorts. After the last day of school (during which they had watched movies and played sports all day) had let out, Sherman took Penny straight home, where she changed out of her school uniform and into her everyday pink dress (mom's rule: no wearing her uniform around the house), while Sherman asked her mom if they could go out. She had agreed, as long as Penny was home by 10PM, sharp.

They had gone out to eat at their favorite burger joint, followed by a walk through the park. Finally, they ended up back at Sherman's home. They had come inside, gotten a couple drinks, and plopped down on the couch, preparing to watch movies. However, Penny "accidentally" fell on top of Sherman, pushing the boy into a laying position on the couch, with Penny right on top of him. Penny then moved so they were both laying facing up at the ceiling. Getting what Penny was trying to do, Sherman wrapped his arms around her. He then clapped twice, turning the fireplace on, then another three times, turning the lights off.

Thankfully, the two were alone, as Mr. Peabody had been called away to discuss an urgent matter concerning one of his business ventures. Mr. Peabody assured Sherman that it was likely nothing and hurried away to deal with it. Sherman was given the usual home-alone rules, including his personal favorite: "No parties or I'll use the WABAC to dump you in some random time period for a month!"

Sherman didn't mind, because he was still allowed to have Penny over, and that was all that mattered to him. The two had been relaxing in front of the fireplace for about two hours now, and they were very comfortable as they laid there. Both were glad school was over and they would have the summer to spend with each other as boyfriend and girlfriend.

Deep down the two of them still couldn't believe they were finally dating. And they weren't just some "high school couple" that would most-likely break up around Graduation; they were in it for the long run. And no, Sherman hadn't told Penny about the note from his future self; deep down the two of them just knew it.

"I could stay like this all summer," Penny sighed in content.

"Me, too," Sherman said, equally content, "Except your mom was pretty serious when she said I have to have you home by 10:00."

"What time is it?" Penny asked, as she felt herself yawning.

"About 8:30," Sherman answered, also yawning, "We can stay like this for another hour, then I gotta…gotta take you home." Sherman suddenly felt Penny's breathing slightly increase in an up-and-down motion. He looked down and noticed Penny had fallen asleep on top of him.

Yawning, Sherman shrugged, "Eh, I've got a time machine. I can just come back and wake myself up. I've got all the time in the world." At that, he slowly allowed himself to drift off, snuggled close to the girl of his dreams.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed :)<strong>

**So, word count for this chapter is: 4564 out of 50,000  
><strong>**Total word count is: 25,306 out of 50,000**

**HALFWAY THERE!**


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